Pages

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Fenrin Grace is larger than life, almost mythical.
He’s the school Pan, seducing girls without really meaning to. He’s biding his
time until someone special comes along. Someone different, who will make him
wonder how he got along all this time without her. Someone like me.

Fenrin’s twin, Thalia, is a willowy beauty with
rippling, honey-colored hair. Wherever she goes, Thalia leaves behind a band of
followers who want to emulate her. She casts spells over everyone she
encounters, just like Fenrin—even if they both deny it.

Then there’s Summer. She’s the youngest Grace, and
the only one who admits she’s really a witch. Summer is dark on the
outside—with jet-black hair and kohl-rimmed eyes—and on the inside. It was
inevitable that she’d find me, the new girl—a loner with secrets lurking under
the surface.

I am River. I am not a Grace. But I’ll do anything
to become one.

She had power. Of course she used it.

Magic didn’t seem to make things easier.

They haven’t seen a fucking thing yet. (Last
sentence of the book!)

This book felt somewhat creepy and eerie all the
way through and the ending took me by surprise, I must say. I wanted something
huge and tragic to happen about midway through – and I didn’t get that until
towards the end of the book. River, our protagonist, has a very convincing and
edgy voice. I was hanging on every word she said, especially when it came to
the Graces. The Graces are a group of three siblings that allegedly have “powers”
and everyone at school both fears them and wants to be one of them at the same
time. They are mysterious and wild and anyone who gets too close to them for
too long ends up going stir crazy. River makes it her ultimate mission to be a
part of their “group” and find a way into their inner circle. I loved learning
the history of the Graces the most and trying to understand the stigma that
followed their family name.

The book does have a creepy feel that makes you
question what outlandish thing will happen next. Each of the Grace siblings has
such a different personality and it is nice to see their stories unravel. You
learn small secrets about each of them as the story progresses – books like this
are always my favorite. By the end of the book, we are left with a cliffhanger
where I must say that I am unsure if River will be evil or good by the time the
series is over? I feel like she wants revenge and I am so stoked for the next
book in the series. I have such high hopes for the next book. Such a perfect
book for Halloween!

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Seventeen-year-old
Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord's daughter, with a life of wealth and
privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress
fittings, she leads a forbidden secret life.

Against her stern father's wishes and society's
expectations, Audrey often slips away to her uncle's laboratory to study the
gruesome practice of forensic medicine. When her work on a string of savagely
killed corpses drags Audrey into the investigation of a serial murderer, her
search for answers brings her close to her own sheltered world.

“Roses have both petals and thorns, my dark
flower. You needn’t believe something weak because it appears delicate. Show
the world your bravery.”

“Fear is a hungry beast. The more you feed it,
the more it grows.”

“There’s nothing better than a little danger
dashed with some romance.”

“It was a great night for hunting Jack the
Ripper.”

I have never been a huge fan of Jack the Ripper.
I really hate stories where women are brutally murdered; however, I must say
that this book was written exceptionally well. I am so intrigued after finishing
this book that I believe I am going to find myself reading and researching more
about Jack the Ripper. This story follows seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose, the
daughter of a Lord and a young lady fascinated with dissecting cadavers. She
becomes completely wound up in the case that soon becomes known as the Jack the
Ripper serial killings. Audrey Rose was everything I could ever want in a
female lead! When I tell you that I squealed a little when I found out this was
a serious, I literally squealed…OUT LOUD.

I do not have what I consider a “weak stomach”;
however, there were moments in reading this story that I had to look away and jump
a few paragraphs forward. The author does a great job with imagery and fine
detail – almost too good. Some parts are very graphic and the descriptions WILL
make you cringe, which is perfect for a Halloween read. The end became
predictable about three-fourths of the way through the book, but the writing is
so superb that I was still hooked and wanted to see how Audrey reacted when she
found out who, in fact, Jack the Ripper actually was. I am so excited for more
from this author and more in this series!

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

After growing up
on a farm in Virginia, Walthingham Hall in England seems like another world to
sixteen-year-old Katherine Randolph. Her new life, filled with the splendor of
upper-class England in the 1820s, is shattered when her brother mysteriously drowns.
Katherine is expected to observe the mourning customs and get on with her life,
but she can't accept that her brother's death was an accident.

A bitter poacher prowls the estate, and strange
visitors threaten the occupants of the house. There's a rumor, too, that a wild
animal stalks the woods of Walthingham. Can Katherine retain her sanity long
enough to find out the truth? Or will her brother's killer claim her life, too?

John frowns, and I know he isn’t fooled. But,
tapping his horse smartly with the reins, he does as I say. I am, after all,
the lady of Walthingham Hall.

“You won’t catch me going outside after dark
again,” one mutters. “Not now that the Beast of Walthingham has claimed
another.”

The
Beast of Walthingham preys on the wicked, they say…

Then I see the gaunt, dark figure watching me
silently from the other side of the rise.

For the month of October, I am trying to read
books that are either gothic themed or have a creepy storyline. This book had a
very gothic feel, but in the end fell short for me. The main character
Katherine, along with her brother, come into a huge fortune when a relative
suddenly passes away. When they move to Walthingham Hall they are impressed by
a lavish and grandiose lifestyle, far different from they have ever known, but
their lives are soon changed because of the mysterious and even fatal
occurrences that happen in and around the manor. The novel had all the
necessary elements to be a spooky, haunting read, but it lacked something that
I find very pivotal for a novel to be at the top of my shelf: characterization.

Katherine was not what I expected in a female
heroine. She was a very flat character and was not characterized very well. The
mystery fell flat for me as well. I had the “who-dun-it” figured out about
halfway through, and I was pretty disappointed when I realized there were not
going to be any more interesting twists and turns. The setting was absolutely
magical; the estate was gothic, creepy, and everything you hope an 19th
century manor would be. The story line sounds perfect for Halloween, but the
plot left me wanting more and left me unsatisfied by the end of the book.

Saturday, October 8, 2016

A thousand-story tower stretching into the sky. A glittering vision of the
future, where anything is possible—if you want it enough.

Welcome to Manhattan, 2118.

A hundred years in the future, New York is a city
of innovation and dreams. But people never change: everyone here wants
something…and everyone has something to lose.

Leda Cole’s flawless exterior belies a secret
addiction—to a drug she never should have tried and a boy she never should have
touched.

Eris Dodd-Radson’s beautiful, carefree life falls
to pieces when a heartbreaking betrayal tears her family apart.

Rylin Myers’s job on one of the highest floors
sweeps her into a world—and a romance—she never imagined…but will her new life
cost Rylin her old one?

Watt Bakradi is a tech genius with a secret: he
knows everything about everyone. But when he’s hired to spy by an upper-floor
girl, he finds himself caught up in a complicated web of lies.

And living above everyone else on the thousandth
floor is Avery Fuller, the girl genetically designed to be perfect. The girl
who seems to have it all—yet is tormented by the one thing she can never have.

Amid breathtaking advancement and high-tech
luxury, five teenagers struggle to find their place at the top of the world.
But when you’re this high up, there’s nowhere to go but down…

“Maybe that's all
that praying was, she thought, just wishing good outcomes on other people.”

“Sometimes love
and chaos are the same thing.”

“If you aren't
sure, then you definitely aren't in love.”

This book gave me the biggest book hangover
ever. No book that I read after this one was going to compare and I knew that
about halfway through. The premise behind this book was so enchanting and after
seeing so many people rave about it on YouTube, I decided that I had to give it
a try. The book was full of drama and I loved learning more about the tower; I
hope that in the series we learn more and more about the different floors. I
will say, without spoiling the novel, that the higher to the top you are the
more money and power you have. I just loved the idea that all of New York was
in this thousand floor tower and even the modes of travel to get from one floor
to the next were futuristic.

My favorite thing about this book was all the
different perspectives that we are given. We get to read from the point of view
of about five or six different characters which makes the world all the more
entertaining because they all come from different backgrounds. Each character
has something very interesting to add the story and reading from the different
point of views allow you to feel like you are reading more than one story
wrapped into one. The ending of the book answered enough of my questions to be
satisfactory, but of course I am anxious to know where things are going from
here. This is definitely a great book to pick up for Fall!

About Me

My name is Chelsey and I am the creator of Charming Chelsey's! I read and review anything and everything that I find to be "charming."
I accept ARCs or already released books for review, and I'm also available to participate in any blog tours or book reveals too. If anything, please don't hesitate to email me any time for any reason at: charmingchelseys(at)gmail(dot)com